Upcoming Metal Releases 9/16/2018-9/22/2018
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Hi, I’m back.
Here are the new metal releases for the weeks of September 16 – September 22, 2018. Release dates are formatted according to proposed North American scheduling, if available. Expect to see the bulk of these records on shelves or distros on the coming Fridays unless otherwise noted or if labels and artists get impatient. Blurbs and designations are based on whether or not I have a lot to say about it.
See something we missed? Goofs? Let us know in the comments. Plus, as always, feel free to post your own shopping lists. Happy digging.
As a little bit of a challenge, include your own opinion about anything you want to add. Make me want to listen to it!
Please note: this is a review column and is not speculative. Any announced albums without preview material will not be covered. Additionally, any surprise releases which are uploaded or released after this column is published will be excluded.
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ANTICIPATED RELEASES
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Bald Anders – Spiel | Trollmusic | Progressive Metal/Rock | Germany
From my premiere of “Le Fuet”:
Forged from the ashes of their former project, the brothers (Benjamin and Constantin König) behind Lunar Aurora avert their gaze from the sky’s mysteries to those deep within the forest. The eerie, driving rock of Bald Anders’s second album still possesses the style inherent to its creators — ethereal, orchestrated, and dense — but Spiel enters into catchier territory. This is a rock (or at least sort of metal) band, and from that comes a sense of immediacy over subtlety. Bald Anders is heavy in that classic Blue Cheer sense, riding on pop hooks and rhythmic turns to drive their point home.
Granted, the orchestrated sense of songs like “Le Fuet” (a backwards spelling of teufel, or “devil” in German) offer a glance into the mystery of the Bavarian forests. As focused and momentum-driven as this song might be, the darkness held therein unveils a different beast altogether. As Bernhard Tomm’s varied keyboards and bizarre instrument sounds and Izzy Wiggum’s ghastly voice come into play, Bald Anders is an immensity which rivals most keyboard-laden black metal bands, but still an energetic, progressive rock band. This duality defines the entirety of Spiel — a band looking forward into a dynamic future while still clutching their own inspirational past.
Sumac – Love in Shadow | Thrill Jockey | Sludge Metal | United States
Finally, a new Sumac album, or at least one which isn’t an abstract collaboration with a member of Hanatarash. After the trio’s first two albums, there was a lot of expectation which was left kind of hanging in the balance after that album whose title is too long for me to remember. As it turns out, the aggression I (and I think many other people) were looking for was being channeled into this surprising new album. This is a level of anger and heaviness I’ve never really heard from Aaron Turner… pretty much from anywhere else in his discography. There is madness here, pure, spitting destruction. Prepare yourself.
Voivod – The Wake | Century Media | Avant-Garde Thrash Metal | Canada
At this point, you should know what to expect from Voivod! Strap in for some of the strangest metal around from one of metal’s weirdest bands.
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OF NOTE
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Aborted – TerrorVision | Century Media | Death Metal/Grindcore | Belgium
This new album is fine and heavy, but all it makes me want to do is… listen to Goremageddon (which I did!).
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FOR THE ADVENTUROUS
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Toby Driver – They Are The Shield | Blood Music | Art Pop | United States
Stripping Driver’s music of its metallic trappings leaves beautifully delicate, chambered music. Fans of David Sylvian’s solo work will find solace here, but, make no mistake, this is still idiosyncratically Driver‘s music. After years of cultivating, Toby Driver’s composition style is unmistakably his at any volume or level of distortion.
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